FAYZ-plus-one
by Istillwishiwasaweasley
Summary: Molly Winter is visiting Perdido Beach to study a freak event, the very last thing she expects is to become part of the freakiest events in the history of the planet. When twenty two year old Molly gets stuck in the 'FAYZ-plus-one' she tries to stay out of the trouble, she tries to help the kids, but how much difference can one adult really make? All books compliant.
1. Chapter 1

*Rated for swearing and violence in later chapters*

Chapter 1- _Day -1_

"Ready to go, Molly?" Andrew asked, poking his head around Molly's temporary office/broom closet door. She jumped slightly and looked up from her notebook.

"Yep, thanks so much for inviting me, Andrew, it's really kind of you." Molly said, picking up her pale blue satchel bag and putting her notebook and laptop inside.

"It's our pleasure, Astrid's been looking forward to meeting you." Andrew replied, smiling. Molly left the room and followed Andrew Ellison out of the offices and into the car park.

"Here's the address, just in case we get split up in traffic. Have you got a GPS?" Molly took the map and scanned it quickly before replying.

"Yes, but I haven't quite got it figured out yet, the hire company rep had to put the hotel in for me." Andrew laughed and then walked over to his own car, looking back as he unlocked the door.

"Well, just give me a call if you get lost."

"Will do, see you soon." Molly opened the door of her blue fiesta and climbed in. She put her bag on the passenger seat and took a deep breath before checking her phone.

No calls. No texts. No emails.

"Bastard." She muttered. It wasn't like she had been expecting to hear from him. He was on a different time zone after all. Perhaps he had just had a busy day.

"Yeah, perhaps he's on a plane on his way to sweep you off your feet!" She said, sarcastically. "Get a grip, Winter, he's a pig."

Molly Winter looking in the windscreen mirror, her pale blue eyes looked back at her. Even she could see she looked tired. She couldn't blame jet-lag anymore, she had to accept that she wasn't sleeping because she was crying too much.

She had left England three weeks ago, sent here by her PhD supervisor to research a freak event that had occurred in Perdido Beach, California over 15 years go. It had taken months to set up the interviews, the government had seemed to put every possible barrier in her way but in the end the Nuclear Energy Agency had intervened and forced the power plant to let her come, trying to prove that they had nothing to hide.

It was strange to sit on the wrong side of the car, and drive on the wrong side of the road, but Molly tried to push her melancholy mood out of her mind and focus on driving.

When she reached the gate they stopped her, as usual.

"Need to search your car, Miss Winter. Won't take long."

"Again?" She whined, annoyed. The guard didn't reply and spent the next fifteen minutes searching the car and her notes for any material that she wasn't authorised to have. It was like they expected her to find some big secret!

When she was allowed to leave it was a relatively straight-forward journey to Perdido Beach, she had ventured into the town only a few times since she had arrived. It was a nice, normal, seaside town. She was staying at the Clifftop hotel which would ordinarily be out of her budget but her research grant had picked up the tab, she even have a suite rather than just a room. So desperate to get her out of his way, Molly thought bitterly.

She pulled up to the Ellison house and it took her a few attempts to get onto the drive, parking was never her speciality and everything was different on this side of the pond. She checked her reflection again to make sure she looked presentable and then picked up her bag and walked up to the house.

It was a fairly large white house with a small front porch with a bench and some potted plants. Molly knocked on the door automatically before realising that there was a doorbell. She dithered for a moment, wondering whether to use it but then heard footsteps so decided against it.

Andrew Ellison opened the door. He was a tall man with sandy coloured hair and glasses. He had removed his tie and undone the top couple of buttons of his shirt, a relaxed off-duty look.

"Hey, you found it alright then." He said, opening the door wider and beckoning her in.

"Yes, sorry I'm a bit late, the car was searched again." Andrew laughed.

"Josh on security doesn't trust anyone, don't take it personally. Come on in, can I get you a drink?"

"Just water please. It's a lovely street."

"Thanks, come and meet the family." Molly followed him into a large kitchen. There was a woman at the stove, perhaps in her early forties, she was wearing a black dress with a navy blue cardigan.

There was also a young girl sat at the table using a laptop. She was the kind of girl that Molly had wished she looked like when she was a teenager. Blond hair, blue eyes, slim build. Molly was also fairly slim but her pale brown hair and pale complexion would always class her as distinctly average.

"This is Molly, this is Barbara, my wife, and my daughter, Astrid."

"Hello Molly, it's lovely to meet you." Said Barbara, coming forward and shaking Molly's hand.

"You too, thank you so much for inviting me."

"Not at all, Astrid put the laptop away." Astrid sighed, shut the laptop and smiled at Molly.

"Hello." She said, confidently.

"Where's Petey got to?" Barbara said, moving from the kitchen into the hallway.

Andrew told Molly to sit down so she moved and sat opposite Astrid at the table. Astrid was putting away her work, Molly glanced at Algebra and was surprised at the level. Either American kids were much more advanced that English children, or Astrid was a whiz-kid. Molly suspected the latter.

Barbara returned, with a small boy, his blond head stuck in a video game, trailing behind her.

"And this young man is Pete, or Little Pete." Said Andrew, patting his son on the head. Pete made no sign of acknowledgement.

"It's lovely to meet you, Pete." Molly said, the boy didn't reply.

"Don't take it personally, he's autistic." Said Barbara, practically whispering the word 'autistic', Molly noticed Astrid rolling her eyes at her mother.

Twenty minutes later Barbara dished up a pie and vegetables and the family, except Pete, sat down.

"Munchy, munchy Petey." Said Astrid, looking over at her brother. He came and sat down next to her but did not let the game go.

Barbara dished up the dinner and passed Molly a plate. They said a short prayer and then started eating.

"So, Molly, tell us about your research." Barbara said, taking a small sip of white wine.

"Well, I'm researching freak events and trying to determine a framework for managing the fall-out from them."

"Oh, so you're not a Physicist then?" Astrid asked, looking slightly disappointed.

"No, not at all, I'm more of a risk analyst."

"It still sounds fascinating, what other events have you looked into?"

"It varies quite a bit. I examine big things, like a meteorite hitting your power plant, and also much smaller events that only effect individuals. For example, photographs that are taken at a precise moment to capture an improbable shot, bullets deflected by small pieces of shrapnel, people that are walking down the street and a sinkhole opens up or they get hit by a falling object."

"Are you doing a PhD?" Astrid asked, her eyes hungry for knowledge.

"Yes, I'm in my second year."

"Where?"

"Oxford."

"Astrid wants to go to Oxford, don't you dear?" Barbara said, looking at her daughter carefully.

"Well, at some point, I'd also like to go to Harvard. And perhaps NYU."

"What would you like to study?" Molly asked but before Astrid could reply her mother spoke up, with a dismissive laughter.

"Everything, Molly!" Astrid blushed and looked down at her plate.

They discussed Molly's research for a few more minutes and then Barbara asked her about how she was finding California.

"Oh, it's beautiful and the weather is amazing."

"Are you staying at Clifftop?" She asked, sipping the wine again.

"Yes."

"We're in the club up there, I'm actually playing tennis there in the morning."

"I thought you were playing on Thursday?" Andrew asked.

"No, Jen moved the match. My friend, Jen, she's the mayor's wife." Barbara added, for Molly's benefit clearly. Kate got the impression that the Ellison's were social climbers, especially Barbara.

"Are you married, dear?" Barbara asked, her eyes looking at Molly's left hand for a wedding ring.

"Oh, no, not yet."

"Engaged?" Barbara pressed.

"No, I've actually just split up with my boyfriend." Molly replied, trying to prevent her voice from betraying emotion.

"Oh dear! Recently?"

"She said, just." Astrid piped up, her mother glared at her and the teenager returned her gaze to her pie.

"Yes, just before I fly out here." Molly didn't add that her ex-boyfriend was actually her married supervisor who had promised to leave his wife. When his wife announced she was pregnant, Molly was put on the next plane out to California. First class.

"Oh, perhaps you can patch things up when you get back. How old are you?"

"Only 22, there's plenty of time to find my Mr-Right."

"Of course, plenty of time." Barbara replied, her voice so close to patronising it was almost comical.

"Your parents must be proud of your studies." Andrew said, clearly trying to minimise his guest's embarrassment.

"Yes, well my mother died when I was younger but my father is proud." Perhaps, Molly thought, she hadn't spoken to him for months, not since he announced he was getting married to a 19 year old dancer he met in a strip club.

"What do you do, Barbara?" Molly asked, trying to shift focus off her.

"Oh I don't work anymore, I need to keep an eye on Petey, he's very special." Molly noticed Astrid looking like she was biting her tongue with great difficulty.

"Of course, how old…?"

"He's four." Astrid answered, glancing at her brother who had not eaten much of his dinner.

"And how old are you, Astrid?"

"Fourteen."

"With the head of a thirty year old!" Her mother scoffed. Molly felt a rush of compassion for Astrid, her mother was clearly hard work.

After dinner they moved into the living room and had coffee. Molly had water, she really missed tea.

"How much longer will you be in Perdido Beach?" Astrid asked, sipping a hot chocolate. Pete was being put to bed by his mother.

"Only another week, I've got most of my research done now."

"Will you be staying in America?"

"I'm not sure, I'm waiting to hear from my supervisor, it would be great to travel the country a bit more, now that I'm here. It will depend on whether a new location can be found to extend my visa."

Barbara's voice floated down the stairs, calling for Astrid.

"Excuse me." Astrid said, putting down her drink and walking out of the room.

"You have a lovely family, Andrew." Molly said, looking around at the pictures.

"Thank you, it's a bit of a struggle with Petey but…we get what God decides." Molly nodded although she had no religious beliefs whatsoever.

Astrid did not reappear but Barbara did, holding another glass of wine, as well as a coffee.

"Do you play tennis, Molly? We could have a match, I'm a member of the tennis club."

"Oh, thank you for the offer but I don't play."

"Just a friendly match, nothing serious." She laughed, sitting next to her husband who was glancing at the wine, perhaps counting how many glasses she'd had. Molly thought it was close to six. Large glasses.

"Sorry, I've got weak knees, I can't really run or … anything. The last thing I need is a huge medical bill, I'm not sure my research grant would cover it." She joked.

"Of course, healthcare is free in England, isn't it?"

"Yes, although you can pay for private treatment if you want, most people don't though. The National Health Service is excellent."

"Oh Andrew, imagine the holidays we could take if we didn't have to pay for healthcare insurance!"

"It's worth it." Andrew replied, Barbara turned to Molly.

"Petey's treatment is so expensive, sometime I don't think it makes any difference…"

"Barbara." Andrew said, warning in his voice.

"Do you have any siblings?" He asked, ignoring his wife's glare.

"No, well, not yet. My father is getting remarried, the girl … woman, is pregnant."

"That will be nice for you." Barbara said, Molly nodded but did not trust herself to reply.

"Anyway, it's getting late, I better get back to the hotel, thank you so much for a lovely evening." Molly said, standing up.

Andrew led her into the hallway and then called up to his daughter, who poked her head down the stairs, looking rather pale.

"Goodbye Molly, it was lovely to meet you. Good luck with the research."

"Thanks, give me a ring when you get to Oxford." Astrid laughed and then disappeared again.

* * *

_Day 0_

Molly was sat at her desk the following morning, trying to access a file when there was a knock on the door.

"Yes?" The door opened and the head of the plant was standing there, looking angry.

"Miss Winter, would you care to explain why you are trying to access a restricted file?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise it was restricted, I just thought my laptop was being slow. I was looking for the log for the month after the event. The plant managers log?"

"You do not have the clearance for that file."

"I'm not looking for the figures or radiation readings or anything, just the daily logs…"

"You do not have clearance for that file." He repeated, his face red.

"Problem, Mr Wyatt?" Came a voice that Molly recognised as Andrew Ellison's.

"Just having a problem explaining clearance levels to our visitor, Ellison."

"I'm really sorry, if I can speak to the manager at the time then…"

"That's not going to happen. The NEA might have granted you access to some of our files but this is still my power plant!"

"Okay…" The manager stormed off, leaving Molly on the verge of tears. She had never been good at confrontation.

"Come on, I'll make you a cup of horrible American tea." Andrew said, Molly nodded, still in shock and followed Andrew into the control room. She was more than a little surprised to see Pete sat on the floor, engrossed in his game.

"Oh, hello Pete." She said, failing to keep the surprise out of his voice. She couldn't look at a harmless log but workers were allowed to bring their toddlers into the control room!

"Yes, Barbara wanted to focus on her tennis this morning, he's happy as long as his game is working." Andrew said, moving to the kettle. Molly sat down on the small sofa and tried to calm herself down slightly, before she had chance however, alarms started blaring.

Andrew dropped a mug and swore.

"Stay here, Molly, keep an eye on…" Andrew ran out of the room, lights of various colours were flashing, the screens were all flashing and the noise was deafening.

Little Pete started screaming, still clutching his game. Molly froze, unsure what to do. He wouldn't hear any words of comfort over this racket so she lowered herself off the sofa and shuffled over to him.

He was rocking backwards and forwards, screaming at an unnatural volume.

"It's okay…" Molly began but her words had no effect so she put what she hoped was a comforting hand on Pete's shoulder, suddenly the world went dark.

* * *

A/N This is my first Gone story, I read the books a couple of months ago and I can't stop re-reading! Please review and let me know what you think about Molly and how much difference she'll be able to make!


	2. Chapter 2

_Day 0_

Molly had strange dreams. Faces, numbers, shapes, colours, all unnaturally bright and confusing. The dreams seem to last a long time.

Gentle voices started to infiltrate them, Molly realised she was waking up. She opened her eyes and saw two pairs of eyes looking back at her, one she recognised, the other she didn't.

"Molly, are you alright?" Astrid asked, moving back slightly.

"Astrid?" Molly murmured, her head feeling heavy as if she was in water.

"Yes, and this is Sam, Sam Temple. Do you want to sit up?"

"Yeah, where's Pete?"

"He's in the corner, playing his game. Get up slowly." Astrid warned, Molly nodded and then Sam and Astrid helped her sit up, she pushed herself over to the sofa and leaned back onto it. She rubbed her eyes and felt the back of her head where she was unsurprised to feel a bump.

There were two other unfamiliar boys in the room, both looking stressed and rather tired. They had to be the same age as Astrid, what on earth were they doing in the powerplant?

"What are you kids doing in here? Where is everyone?"

"Something weird has happened." Sam said, looking unsure and scratching his elbow in a nervous way.

"What do you mean by weird?" Molly's entire career was based around weird things, they had lost their appeal.

"Something you can definitely use in your research, Molly." Astrid said, a brave stab at humour.

"I'm Quinn, this is Edilio." Quinn said, pointing his thumb towards Edilio who nodded at her.

"I'm Molly, Molly Winter." She replied, rubbing her head again. She noticed Little Pete sat in the corner, absorbed by his game.

"Can you remember what happened? When you were knocked out? Or before it?" Sam asked, passing Molly a can of Coke, she opened it and gulped greedily. Normally she preferred Diet Coke but she was too thirsty to be fussy.

"Thanks. Yeah, I was sitting here, Andrew was making a cup of tea when the alarms went off. He asked me to watch Pete and then ran off. Pete started screaming, I went over to him. I tried to talk to him but it was so loud I didn't think he could hear me so I went to put my hand on his shoulder, then…" Molly tailed off, trying to this past the contact.

"What?" Quinn asked, urgently.

"Nothing…I can't remember anything else, it's just a blank, where are the plant workers? How did you lot even get in here?"

"How old are you?" Edilio asked, quite randomly.

"Umm…haven't you been taught that it's rude to ask a woman her age?" Molly replied, smiling slightly.

"He's Mex…Honduran, anyway, that must be a British thing. How old are you?" Quinn pressed.

"Twenty two, why?" Molly replied, taking another slurp of Coke.

"Because yesterday morning, everyone over the age of fourteen disappeared, everyone, except you." Sam said, looking at her with relief evident in his eyes. Molly thought it was a joke, a prank on the outsider, but then she saw Quinn turn to cry.

"What?" Sam repeated his claim.

"Oh, and also, Sam here can shoot light out of his hands, I forgot that part!" Quinn said, turning back and looking angry.

"Are you winding me up?" Molly asked, looking at Astrid who was the only one she had met before and had any reason to trust.

"No, seriously, something _impossible_ has happened…"

"It's just kids, and you." Edilio said. "Oh, and there's a big wall, I mean huge wall that we think is covering the town, twenty mile radius with this at the centre." He added, throwing up his arms.

"I…" Molly stopped because she had no idea what to say. This was impossible.

"Have you…?"

"Called the cops, tried. The TV, radio and internet are all down, we still have power though." Said Sam, looking around at the control room.

"So, you're saying that all the adults in town have vanished…"

"We like to call it, poofed. One second the teacher is talking about the civil war and then…poof!" Quinn said, clicking his fingers.

"Cars have crashed all over the place, there was a fire in an apartment and a little girl died, she could produce flames of light as well, didn't save her though. Only a toddler!" Sam said, sitting down and sighing. Molly started to feel scared, something about these kids told her that they weren't joking.

"When did this happen? How long have I been out of it?"

"Yesterday morning, I went to Clifftop yesterday to see if Petey was there and then this morning we came here and found you, I thought there might be more of you…" Molly wished there were more of her, or not her at all.

"Sorry, just me I guess, have you searched the rest of the buildings, this place is huge?"

"Yeah, everywhere, while Sam and Astrid were trying to wake you up."

"Fuck, oh sorry, I'm not really used to being around children." Molly winced at her swearing but the boys laughed and even Astrid gave a weak smile.

"Well until we get rescued, you're it." Edilio said, shrugging.

"Can you drive us back to Perdido Beach?" Sam asked, Molly nodded.

"Let me eat something first, I'm starving." They raided the vending machines, Molly discovered that American chocolate tasted different, and then walked into the car park.

"Which one's yours?" Quinn asked.

"The blue fiesta. Pete will have to sit on your lap, Astrid." She nodded and they piled into the car.

"Ready, seat belts on?"

"Seat…" Quinn started but Edilio cut across him.

"Safety belts."

"Yeah, I guess if there are no other cars I can drive on the right side of the road though." Sam laughed and nodded.

"So, what are the kids doing? Freaking out?"

"Yeah, crying, looting, it's a blast!" Quinn snapped, Sam gave Molly a shaky smile from the passenger seat.

"Marvellous, probably a bad time to point out that I'm not great with kids, I mean teenagers, fine, under three's fine, anything in between…"

"Noted." Said Astrid with a laugh.

"We better get rescued quickly, how many kids are we talking about?"

"About three hundred." Astrid supplied.

"Three hundred scared kids, any of you ever read Lord of the Flies?"

"The one with Gandalf?" Quinn asked.

"No, that's Lord of the Rings. Lord of the Flies is about a group of boys that get stranded on a desert island and turn into savages." Astrid said, nodding at Molly.

"Well, at least we've got girl power on our deserted island. Let's go."

As they drove into the town Astrid confided that she knew that her brother had started showing impossible powers, such as transporting himself into Astrid's room when he was scared.

"Could he have created this?" Sam asked, looking at Molly for answers.

"I think we're outside the realm of possibility, anything can happen. I wouldn't tell anyone about Little Pete though, Astrid. The rest of you keep it to yourselves, scared people do crazy things and I'm doubting children will be any different."

They passed a few crashed cars, and an upturned lorry that Molly scrapped the car getting past.

"There goes my deposit." She muttered. Edilio laughed behind her.

"Where am I going?" She asked, as they reached the outskirts. She already had the creeps and they'd only passed a few children, all of which ran after the car at the sight of an adult.

"Town centre, most kids are there." Sam said, he directed her and when they reached the plaza there were so many kids around the car that Molly struggled to open the door.

"Let us get out!" Sam yelled, kids moved back respectfully and Edilio climbed out and then opened the door for Molly.

"Thanks."

"No problem, guys back up!"

"What's going on?"

"Are you the police?"

"My mummy's gone!"

"Where is everyone?"

"Guy's shut up, let's go into the church, it will be easier to talk to them in there." Molly nodded at Sam's words and then led the flock of children into a large Catholic church. Astrid bowed and crossed herself and then led Molly up to the stage.

"Okay, quiet!" Sam yelled. There was instant silence. Sam had some unknown power, one that Molly thought had little to do with an ability to produce light.

"Thanks Sam. So, my name's Molly and…" What was she supposed to say to these kids, she thought with a panicked mind?

"Who are you?" A tall black kid asked.

"Are we on the TV? Is it a hidden camera show?" One girl said, looking around and straightening her hair.

"No, listen! My name's Molly. I've just been in America for a few weeks, working at the power plant. I'm not sure what's happened, I don't know where the adults are but…"

"You're the only adult here?" A weedy boy asked, looking as if he was sizing Molly up. Molly knew that she posed no threat, some of the older kids were taller than her and if she were chased she had little desire to run away, her knees hating movement at the best of times.

"Yeah, and although we don't know what's going on we're going to have to figure out a way to get along and stay friends until we're rescued, okay?" Some of the younger kids looked reassured and Molly wished she had someone to reassure her.

"What about…?"

"Hey, cars are coming!" A boy yelled, running in from the outside.

"Thank fuck." Molly muttered, only loud enough for Sam to hear, he snorted and they started to walk outside.

By the time Molly left the church there was a teenager, probably fourteen, speaking to the crowd.

"…all have the same problems now. And we should work together to deal with our problems, don't you think?"

"Do you know what happened?" A voice from behind the cars asked.

"No. I don't think we probably know any more than you. Everyone fifteen and over disappeared. And there's the wall, the barrier."

"We call it the FAYZ." The same boy that had asked if Molly was the only adult, said.

"The phase?" The boy in the car asked.

"F-A-Y-Z. Fallout Alley Youth Zone." Molly wondered how long she had until someone remembered she was here. That she was an adult. The boy's exchanged compliments.

"…sense of humour when the world seems to have suddenly become a very strange place. What's your name?" This boy was too confident, too prepared.

"Howard. I'm the Captain's number-one guy. Captain Orc."

"I hope you and Captain Orc will join me and anyone else who wants to sit down and talk about our plans for the future. Because we do have plans for the future." Definitely too prepared. These kids knew something. A lot more than Molly knew.

"I want my mom!" A small boy cried. The boy jumped down from the car and walked over, at that moment a girl a few feet in front of Molly turned around and pointed at her.

"We have Molly!"

"Molly?" The new boy asked.

"Yeah, she's a growned up!" A boy, no older than seven said.

"What?" A girl from behind the newcomer said. She had long dark hair and in control features.

Molly stepped forwards and she saw the faces of the new kids pale, as if they had been caught doing something wrong.

"Hey, I'm Molly."

"You're an adult?" A nerdy looking kid asked, Molly could see relief sweep through him.

"Yep."

"You're older than fifteen?" The pretty dark-haired girl asked.

"Definitely." Molly replied confidently.

"How old are you?" The boy demanded.

"Seriously, don't you know it's rude to ask a British woman their age?" Edilio said, from behind Molly, she smiled but answered anyway.

"I'm twenty two, and no, I don't know what happened and where the other adults are. I was at the power plant, I got knocked unconscious, I woke up and suddenly I'm the responsible adult!" It was hard to keep the slight hysteria out of her voice and she hoped that the kids hadn't detected it.

The new kids did not reply, clearly completely blind-sided by her appearance.

"So?" Molly said, "You were saying, working together, making your families proud…?"

"Yeah, I'm Caine, Caine Soren. We're from Coates Academy."

"Which is … a school?" She asked, looking at Astrid who nodded.

"Yeah, up the hill. Umm…perhaps we could have a meeting…with the older kids." Caine said, hesitating and unsure now.

"What an excellent idea, any volunteers?" Molly said, clapping her hands to denote a time for action.

"Sam should do it!"

"Yeah, Sam Temple!"

Sam looked very reluctant, even as the children were singing his praises and telling Caine about him charging into a burning building.

"Temple? Are you related to our school nurse, Connie Temple?"

"She's my mother."

"I'm not surprised that she would have a brave son. She's a very good woman. I see you're humble as well as brave, Sam, but I … we…" He gestured to Molly as an afterthought, "we need your help."

Fifteen minutes later fifteen children and Molly walked inside the church and sat on the front rows.

The introduced themselves quickly.

Sam Temple.

Quinn Gaither.

Astrid and Little Pete.

Albert Hillsborough, a black boy with determination in his eyes.

Mary Terrafino, who had paint all over her clothes and looked exhausted.

Elwood Booker, a tall athletic boy.

Dahra Baidoo, a small and cute black girl with a slightly lopsided smile.

Orc, a tall and large kid who looked slightly dim.

Howard Bassem, walking so close to Orc that they were practically stepping on each other's feet.

Cookie. Molly wondered if that was actually his now, America was a strange place.

Caine Soren, the enigmatic would-be leader.

Drake Merwin, who looked at Molly in a way that made her feel ridiculously uncomfortable. She had to remind herself that these people were just kids, scared kids but kids nonetheless.

Jack, Computer Jack as he said everyone called him.

Diana Ladris, standing close to Caine and looking at him with shrewd eyes. There was definitely a history between those two.

"Right, who's going to tell me what you know?" Molly said, looking at the Coates kids.

"What makes you think we know anything?" Diane shot back, folding her arms.

"Don't play games with me, you're just a tad too prepared." None of them replied so Molly sighed and signalled to Caine. "So, tell us your plan, your plan that was rudely interrupted by my clearly _very_ unexpected existence." Caine took a moment to reply, but when he did it was rehearsed.

"We need to work together. I think we should organise so that things aren't destroyed, and problems can be handled. I think our goal should be to maintain. So that once the barrier comes down, and once the disappeared people come back, they will find that we've done a pretty darn good job of keeping things together."

"The Captain is already maintaining."

Molly watched the conversation unfold, it seemed that Caine had forgot she was even there. It was only when they started discussing the pre-school that Molly was brought back into the conversation.

"…we need help. Molly, would you be able to?" Mary said, looking desperately at her.

"I think, if I'm the only adult in the FAYZ-plus-one then I need to be available to more than just the younger kids. Do you have pastoral jobs at your schools here? Someone who deals with problems that aren't related to schoolwork?"

"Yeah, like counsellors?" Sam said.

"Exactly. I need to be impartial. I can see that you're setting yourself up to be in charge Caine, and I'm not going to challenge that, but I want to be known that I'm not going to get involved with leadership squabbles should they arise." And Molly knew they would.

"You'll let him be in charge?" Albert said, clearly distrustful of the Coates kids.

"I'm just one adult, if you were all to charge at me now, I couldn't do a thing about it so I'm opting out. I want to find out about all the kids, be organised, make small 'family' for want of a better word, groups."

"That's a good idea, we've got toddlers living alone, it's dangerous." Mary said, biting her lip.

"Exactly, we don't know how long this is going to last, but I want to minimise the tragedy. You guys can work for the town, or the FAYZ, but I'll work for the kids and you'll let me, got it?" Caine looked unsure so she continued, "Do you seriously want to deal with petty arguments about whose turn it is to make dinner every night?"

"No." Said Caine quickly.

"Well then, let me."

"Okay, I understand." He replied, nodding slightly.

"You'll need some help, to get to know the kids." Quinn said, Molly nodded and Astrid stepped forwards.

"I can do that, I'll get the school files and the town records, so we know which houses should have kids in."

"Deal, Mary can deal with the pre-schoolers, with supervision from Molly, and Molly can help with the older ones. You all have absolute authority to draft whatever people you need, and demand whatever supplies you need. If anyone argues, Drake and his people, including Captain Orc, will make sure you get what you need."

"Say what, now? I let it go before, but are you saying Orc works for this guy?" Howard said, pointing at Drake. "We don't work for anyone. Captain Orc doesn't work for anyone, or under anyone, or follow anyone's orders."

Molly was about to step forwards when Caine sighed and smoothed down his hair.

There was a rumble, a sound of ripping, and then the crucifix pulled away from the wall, as if a giant hand were pulling it away.

Caine dropped his arms and the cross fell, straight onto Cookie, the blow struck his shoulder and Molly was frozen at the sight.

Molly looked up at Caine and he held her gaze, daring her to say anything.

She looked away and walked over to where Dahra and Elwood were helping Cookie.

"I know some first aid." Dahra said, frantically.

"I guess we have our new nurse. We'll adjourn this meeting until Cookie is stable."

The Coates kids left quickly.

"Do you have a hospital?" Molly asked, kneeling down next to the flailing kid.

"Yeah, well a medical centre with a few beds, we'll get him there." Said Elwood.

"I'll be there once I've been to the day care." When Molly looked up she realised that Astrid, Sam and Little Pete were gone, Quinn as well.

Molly walked to the day care with Mary, both of them in a shocked silence.

"How many kids have you got?" Molly asked.

"Umm…I don't know…maybe thirty, but some must still be in their homes."

"Okay, what about the ages?"

"Most of them are toddlers but we've got some littlies, I'm trying to get into the filing cabinet but I've had no time. I've not slept!" Molly nodded and looked around to see a group of three girls, standing and watching them.

"You three, come here." They obeyed.

When they arrived in the nursery she tasked the girls with watching, what seemed like a herd of, kids and walked with Mary and her little brother John into the office.

* * *

A/N So the FAYZ-plus-one has begun, what do you think? The part with LP choking Sam has been taken out for a reason.

TheZombieWolf- Thanks.

HopeAndFaithAndCharity- There may be spoilers but I'll try to put a warning in for you. Read the rest of the books, I read them in a week, I couldn't put them down!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Day 0_

That first day was like a bad dream. After the day care she went to the medical centre, where Cookie was screaming and Dahra was frantic, then she went to the town hall. She found the Coates kids there, in the mayor's office.

"Hello Molly, how's it going?" Caine asked, yawning as if he was finding such an extraordinary event slightly dull.

"Spectacular. Computer Jack, I need you." Molly snapped before turning to the boy with his head in a computer screen, he looked up quickly.

"Why?" Drake asked from across the room, looking menacing.

"I want to drive up to the power plant, before … whatever happened, happened, I was trying to access a restricted file and the plant manager when ape-shit….I mean, mad…"

Diana laughed and even Caine gave a slight smile.

"I want to know why, I'm guessing you could get me into the file?"

"Of course." Jack said, standing up.

"Excellent, and Dahra is searching the medical records for new babies, make sure you check those houses first." Caine nodded and Diana made a note.

"I'm so glad you're here, Molly." Said Diana, holding out her hand for Molly to shake. It seemed unnatural but Molly couldn't be sure if this was some weird American thing so she shook her hand. She saw Diana's eyes widen, clearly in surprise.

"Are you okay?" She asked when Diana dropped her hand.

"Yes, sorry, I'm fine. Jack, come back when you're finished." Diana said, stepping away.

"We won't be too long." Jack followed her out of the town hall and they found Edilio walking past.

"Edilio, you busy?"

"Not really, why?" Molly explained the plan and Edilio nodded and ran to tell Sam before meeting them by her car.

"Let's go before someone wants me to read them a story." Edilio laughed and climbed into the passenger seat, Jack climbed in and Molly started the journey.

"So Jack, why aren't all the Coates kids here?" Molly said, looking at Jack in the mirror, he shifted in his seat.

"Umm…they didn't want to come." He said, looking out of the window and blushing.

"And how exactly did Caine make that crucifix fall off the wall?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I find that very hard to…"

"Don't." Jack said suddenly.

"What?"

"Don't mess with them. They'll leave you alone, the kids will need you but Caine and Drake…they don't." Jack said, leaning forwards and holding the back of Edilio's seat.

Molly wanted to question him further but decided against it.

It only took Jack twenty minutes to hack into the file, while he did Edilio broke into the cars to look for food, medicine and weapons. He reported back to Molly with twenty five guns, from only thirty cars.

"Twenty-five?" She said, staring at him.

"Welcome to America." Edilio said, spreading his arms.

"Molly, I printed it all." Jack said, coming out of the office and holding a stack of paper.

"Good, thanks Jack. Edilio put all the stuff in the boot."

On the way back to the town they drove to Clifftop and Molly took her suitcase out of her room, then threw all the guns down the cliff.

They made it back to Perdido Beach just as the sun was setting. As soon as she parked, Mary Terrafino was there, she must have been watching out of the day care window.

"We've got a newborn, only five days, she's weak and I can't cope with her as well!"

Even months later Molly didn't know why she said the following statement.

"I'll take her, what's her name?"

"You will? Thank you, thank you Molly!" Mary looked like she would cry with happiness. Molly suddenly wanted to retract her offer but she couldn't bear to.

"Mother Molly? I lost my blankie!" Said a young voice, Molly looked down and saw a six year old in near tears. Molly's temper throbbed.

"Oh, not _Mother_ Molly, that's too far. Auntie Molly will do, or just Molly." Edilio laughed behind her.

"I'll help you, kid, come on." He said, holding out his hand. The girl took it happily.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Hey Astrid." Edilio walked off with the girl, Jack disappeared, Mary ran back to the day care, and Astrid appeared with Little Pete trailing behind her.

"I've just adopted a new born baby." Molly said, leaning on her car and looking around at the plaza, it already had rubbish all over it.

"Long day then?" Astrid said.

"Yeah, I need a house, with a nursery apparently."

"The one next door to me is empty, the family were on holiday, it's got four rooms, we could use one for an office, one for a 'problems' room?" She just air quotes for problems, and Molly laughed.

"Sounds like a plan, I'm glad I've got you Astrid."

Mary returned holding an impossibly tiny baby, wrapped in a patchwork blanket.

"I'm not sure what her name is, Dahra could probably find out. I've just fed her, here." Mary passed the baby to Molly and a bag to Astrid.

"They got some stuff from her house, and I've put some baby care books in there."

"Thanks Mary, I'll be staying next-door to Astrid, spread the word could you?"

"Of course."

Mary left and Molly looked at the baby, it was sleeping, thank god, Molly thought.

"Right, can you hold her? I'll drive us, via a supermarket for baby formula and stuff, and then back home. It must be nearly Pete's bed time?"

"It is, there's a baby shop on the way, I'll show you."

By the time they arrived at the house the car was weighed down by baby things, and food. Astrid helped bring it all inside and then said good night.

"What am I going to call you, huh?" Molly said to the baby, holding it carefully.

The house was nice, modern decoration and very clean. There was a nursery, apparently belonging to a six month old boy called Jonah, Molly put the baby in his crib and then walked down into her new bedroom.

"It won't last long, Molly, it can't. It's just a phase!" Molly laughed at the double meaning and at her own desperation.

She unpacked her suitcase and then went into the kitchen and looked around the cupboards, when she opened the last one it made her burst into near-hysterical tears.

A knock on the door disturbed her, she lifted the box out of the cupboard in case it vanished, and walked to open the door.

"You okay?" Edilio asked, looking alarmed.

"Yeah, I found tea!" Molly said, stepping aside to let him in.

"Congratulations, I thought you went to the shop?"

"This…this is _proper_ tea, from England!" Molly pressed, showing him the box. "What do you want? I'm not making you tea, when it runs out things are likely to get ugly, quickly."

"I won't steal your tea, I don't even like it."

"Blasphemy, but carry on." She said, leading him into the kitchen to continue unpacking the stolen shopping.

"Sam reckons I should live with you, he doesn't trust the Coates kids to leave you alone." Molly considered this for a moment, for some reason Drake seemed to occupy her mind, those cold eyes. She nodded.

"Sounds wise, there's two spare rooms, take your pick."

Molly made herself a cup of tea and when she took a sip she savoured it. It also made her realise what a complete mess she was in. She recalled the events in the church with unnatural clarity, unnatural, she remembered every word.

She shook it off as the shock of the day and opened one of the baby books. Edilio came down and picked up another one, she didn't stop him.

"Do you know her name?"

"Nope. I'll check the medical records with Dahra tomorrow, there…" The baby started crying so Molly went upstairs, her nappy needed changing, the smell was overpowering, how could something so small smell so bad?

When she returned to the living room she found Edilio making notes on new born diets.

"Thanks." She said, looking at his notes. "So, tell me about Edilio." She added, sitting down and putting her feet up. Edilio looked up and smiled.

"Not much to tell."

"I doubt that."

"Okay…well until the other day my biggest worry was immigration finding my family and kicking us back to Honduras."

"In a week we'll have that in common, we're be illegals together!"

"I prefer alien, it sounds cooler." Edilio said, Molly snorted.

"Yeah, things aren't cool enough?"

"True, well, I'm fourteen, I'm one of four kids, my two little brothers were home sick, thank God, my big brother is in the Army, deployed overseas. What about you?"

"I'm Molly, English, PhD student in freak events, the irony is noted, I fell in love with my married supervisor, he told me he'd leave his wife, marry me, we'd live happily ever after. Did it happen? No, he was still sleeping his wife, she got knocked up and then he booked me on the next flight to America!"

"Oh, that's mean." Molly almost laughed.

"Indeed, please don't tell anyone how much I swear or how much I am not okay with this whole FAYZ thing!"

"Deal." Molly nodded and then said goodnight and walked up, she was asleep before she even changed out of her clothes.

* * *

_Day 3_

Over the next two days the baby, Grace, gradually regained her strength and Molly started to get to know the kids of the FAYZ-plus-one.

"…brother is Stephen, remember the one…"

"With glasses and a limp, yeah."

"Your memory is amazing!" Said Astrid from across the table, Molly nodded and then looked up at Astrid.

"It's too good, Astrid." She said, carefully.

"You mean?"

"It was never this good, I can remember everything since you woke me up at the power plant, every detail, it's not normal!"

"Well, it's useful, come on, let's get to Mary and Dahra." Astrid looked over at Pete. "Walkie Petey." Pete stood up and walked over to them.

"I'll get Grace, can you figure out that bloody pushchair." Molly was quite pleased that the kids thought that 'bloody' was just a cute English expression and not a swear word, it helped stop her saying worse.

Grace was awake in her cot, her green eyes opening more each day, looking at the mobile floating above her.

"Come on Grace, time to go and see what madness has happened today." She lifted Grace out, of course it took another half an hour to actually leave the house, Molly never realised how much stuff babies needed.

They went to the day care first, Mary looked exhausted.

"Hello Molly, how's things?" She asked, standing up.

"You look tired Mary, you need sleep."

"It's nearly the end of my shift. How's Grace?" She peered into the pushchair and smiled. "She looks good." Molly nodded.

"Getting there, any more intakes?"

"Two, twins from near the church, there they are, Josh and Lizzie. They're happy playing together, a bit quiet though."

"They'll brighten up. Anything you want me to ask Caine for?"

"No, we're coping, thanks Molly."

When they reached the medical centre Molly peered into the pushchair and then looked at Astrid.

"She's sleeping, can you keep her out here, he'll wake her up." Astrid nodded and Molly went in to find Cookie using colourful language.

"Hey, things sound great in here."

"Molly!" Dahra cried, relief evident in her voice.

"IT HURTS! IT FUCKING HURTS! HELP ME!"

Molly followed Dahra into the office and shut the door against Cookie's painful cries.

"How's it going?"

"He's getting through the painkillers too fast!"

"Can you give him a sedative, a sleeping tablet, piggy-back the tablets?"

"Can you do that?" She asked, looking hopeful.

"Give it a try with mild, over the counter tablets, we'll see how it goes."

"Okay, good idea. I need to talk to you about Mary."

"What about her?"

"Apparently she takes Prozac, she asked me if I had any, she's running out." Molly felt fear stab at her but then she quashed it. This was America, they did things differently here, and perhaps overmedicating was one of the things.

"Did she say why?"

"She just said she had issues, I gave her the tablets, that's the right thing, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I'll talk to her tomorrow."

"Thanks."

"No problem, there's a couple of other kids that are on medication, I wrote it down for you, let me know if we don't have it." Molly passed Dahra the list and she nodded.

When she returned to Astrid, Grace was just waking up. Molly pushed her to the town hall, as she arrived Grace started to cry. She lifted her out and Astrid passed her a formula, it was amazing how used to the routine they were becoming.

When they entered the office Diana and Drake were trading verbal blows, Caine looking bored between them. He straightened up when he saw Molly.

"Good morning, Molly." He said, in his calm, in control, powerful tone.

"Morning, how's it going?"

"Spectacularly." Spat Drake, Molly ignored him and looked at Diana.

"Okay thanks, we've searched almost half of the houses, and the family units seem to be working well." She reported.

"Great, I saw a seven year old holding a gun on my way here."

"So?" Said Drake.

"So, he's seven! Either he's too young to be one of your minions, or he shouldn't be carrying a gun."

"This is America, it's a civil right."

"Not for kids. Knives as well, we don't want any accidents, do we?"

"Can't blame the kid for trying to protect itself." Drake replied, Molly rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I'm going to read the power plant report this afternoon, if I get time." Caine nodded, looking unsure.

"Anything you want to tell me before I read about it?"

"No. Here's a new copy of the rules." Molly took the piece of paper and scanned down it quickly.

"Magic tricks, care to elaborate?"

"Don't play dumb, you're a two bar." Said Caine, "What's your power?"

"Two bar?"

"I can read powers, I express them like a cell phone signal, one bar, two bar etc." Diana said, looking at Molly shrewdly.

"So now we're actually being honest with each other, shouldn't Drake arrest you then Caine? Cookie was injure by your power."

"What do…?"

"Don't play dumb with me, we've got enough problems!" Molly spat, stepping forwards.

"What is your power?" Said Drake, danger evident in his voice.

"When you came down from Coates, the registration numbers of the three cars were…" Molly continued, painting a clear image, every single detail, what they were wearing, where they were looking, which kids were present.

"Memory." Said Diana quietly, Molly nodded.

"Perfect recall, it's not exactly a magic trick is it?" She said, looking at Caine, he shook his head.

"Might actually come in handy for you, remembering all the kids."

"Exactly, now I'm going to check in with the Fire station, any messages you want me to pass along?"

"Just give them a copy of the rules." Caine said, Diana passed her another copy and Molly nodded at her and then left.

When she arrived at the fire station she gave them a new copy of the rules, filled them in on what happened in the town hall and then sat down, feeding Grace, she was asleep within a minute.

She woke up when Edilio shook her, he had taken over feeding Grace.

"Problem." He said, she yawned and stood up.

"Just one?"

"Orc hit Bette, she's in a bad way." Molly cursed and then stood up, Edilio put Grace in the push chair and followed Molly.

What she saw made her insides freeze.

"…not doing this again. Let him have her, Sam." Quinn said, looking down at the feebly stirring body of Bette.

"What the hell is going on here?" Molly said, stepping forwards and crouching down to Bette.

"She broke the rules!" Orc cried, swinging a bat at no one in particular.

"So you smashed her head in?"

Before Orc could answer, Drake arrived.

"Nobody move." Orc stepped forwards and before Molly realised what was happening Drake smashed his elbow into the bully's face.

"Which part of "nobody move" did you not understand, Orc?"

"Alright guys, calm it down. I'm going to help Bette get to the ambulance, try not to fight until I get back."

Edilio and Molly helped Bette onto the bed at the back of the ambulance.

"Swry Molly." She whispered.

"It's okay Bette, just relax." Molly soothed, wrapping Bette's head in a bandage.

"They're fighting." Edilio said, jumping out of the ambulance. Molly followed.

"Pack it in!" She yelled, stepping forwards and planting herself between Drake and Quinn.

"Step aside." Drake said, his voice low.

"What happened Orc?" Molly asked, not moving.

"She was doing a magic trick."

"It was cool!" Said a voice from the crowd.

"Was it scaring anyone?"

"No, it was awesome!" Said another voice.

"Well then, I think Orc over-reacted."

"Orc is deputy sheriff." Drake said, danger in every syllable.

"So he's above the rules, is he?"

"Bette was doing a trick, Orc stopped her, our work here is done." Drake moved away, followed by Orc and a horrible boy named Chaz.

"Let's get Bette to the medical centre." Molly made to move back to the ambulance but Sam put his arm out and pulled her aside.

"You have a power, don't you?" He asked.

"Yeah, perfect memory."

"Does Caine know?"

"Yeah, Diana can gauge people's power, did she shake your hand?" Sam nodded. "We need to be careful, Sam."

"Yeah, you need to stay out of these things, you're too important. I'll get Bette out of here. Go home." Molly nodded.

She left the firehouse and walked with Grace back to her house. The walk should have taken ten minutes but as usual it took over an hour. Problems needed sorting, kids losing toys, arguing with siblings, not knowing how to cook.

"I'll write down some cooking rules and send it out, okay?"

"Thanks, Auntie Molly!" Said a seven-year old girl called Lucy.

She went into Astrid's house first and filled her in on the events at the firehouse.

"I'm worried about Petey, what if they find out?"

"The only people who know are us, Sam, Edilio and Quinn, it will be okay."

When Molly got Grace into bed she started reading the report, she knew immediately why it had restricted access. Both the power plant and the army knew that strange things were happening to the kids in Perdido Beach.

"Why me though?" Molly thought out-loud, then she remembering how she had gone to be in the FAYZ-plus-one. "Little Pete." She whispered.

* * *

A/N So things have started moving forward, what do you think?


	4. Chapter 4

_Day 7_

"Molly, wake up!" Molly jerked awake and found Elwood looking back at her.

"What is it?" She asked, rubbing her head.

"Bette's dead."

"What?" Molly gasped, standing up quickly, her knee throbbed and she fell back down quickly, holding it tightly.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, got up too fast, are you sure?"

"Yeah, Dahra's freaking out."

"I'm coming, go next door and ask Astrid if she can come round and keep an eye on Grace."

When they reached the hospital Molly found Dahra in clear shock. Cookie was still screaming in agony.

Molly walked over to Bette and found that she was unmistakably dead. Orc had killed Bette.

"I…I tried to help her…" Dahra said, moving to stand next to Molly.

"It's not your fault, Dahra." Molly said, stepping back and sitting down. Within a few minutes Sam arrived with Edilio and Quinn.

"We have to bury her." Said Edilio, in a voice of forced calm.

"Go and get Drew, Dahra clean her up a bit…"

"You're going to bring her brother in?" Sam asked, looking amazed.

"He's only six, he needs to understand what's happened." Elwood went out of the room and returned a few minutes later with Drew, in his pyjamas and carrying a teddy bear.

"Drew, come in here for a minute." Molly said, holding out her hand, Drew took it and she led him into Dahra's office.

"Is Bette still sick?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Drew, Bette was really hurt, she's gone to heaven." Although Molly had no religious beliefs, she knew that Bette and Drew did.

"To be with the angels?" Drew asked, his voice wavering.

"That's right, her body is on the bed here but her soul is already in heaven. We're going to bury her body, would you like to say goodbye first?"

"Will she hear me?"

"Definitely." Drew nodded and followed Molly back out of the room.

It was heart-breaking to watch Drew say goodbye to his sister, when he'd finished he put his bear next to her.

"She can have Bear-bear. I've got to be a big boy now, like when Unca Jared died."

"Good boy, Drew."

Sam spoke at Bette's funeral. It was one o'clock in the morning, Drew cried throughout and Molly held his hand. Her perfect memory could not let her forget the dead girl's face.

When the funeral broke up Molly walked with Drew, Astrid and Sam were having a seemingly heated debate by the grave.

"Where do I go now?" Drew asked, still holding onto Molly's hand.

"You can come and sleep at my house tonight, we'll sort everything out in the morning." Quinn was waiting by Grace's pushchair and Molly nodded to him and then started walking to the house.

After a few minutes Orc and Howard interrupted them. Molly moved Drew slightly behind her.

"It's the middle of the night, go to bed."

"I didn't mean to kill her." Orc slurred, looking at Drew.

"But you did, Orc."

"Charles."

"What?"

"My name is Charles."

"I know."

"I didn't mean…"

"Charles, Howard, go home. It's late." To Molly's surprise they both nodded and walked away.

Molly put Grace and Drew to bed and then sat in the living room, there wasn't much point going to bed. She never got more than an hours sleep anyway, she was in constant demand.

Unsurprisingly, within twenty minutes the door was knocked and Albert was standing there covered in scratches.

* * *

_Day 8_

When Molly went downstairs on the morning of what she called 'Day eight', Edilio cheered.

"What?" She asked, pulling a dressing gown around her.

"Happy alien day!" Molly snorted and moved to the kettle.

"Thank you, fellow alien."

"How much sleep did you get?"

"A whole hour! I'm so lucky!"

"You can't keep this up."

"You think I don't know that?"

"You need a…" The door knocked and Molly rolled her eyes and moved to open it.

"Sinder? What's up?" She asked, stepping aside the let the Goth girl in.

"I wondered how Drew was doing."

"He's coping."

"I could take him with me, if you want, we used to live on the same street."

"You don't mind?"

"That's great, Sinder, thanks!" Said Edilio, talking over Molly's question.

"Cool, oh and I've started writing a blog, well, it's not really a blog, it's a diary, so that when we get out of here it will help…" Sinder let the end of the sentence hang and Molly knew why. She was the responsible adult, all the deaths and mistakes would likely stop at her.

"Thanks Sinder, Drew's upstairs."

The radio crackled and Molly looked down at it.

"_Mary to Molly, over_."

"Go ahead." Molly said, picking it up.

"_Just letting you know I'm taking the prees to the beach. Over._"

"Okay, thanks Mary. Over."

"Why is she telling you?" Asked Sinder, looking intrigued.

"Probably so that when I get to the day care I won't freak out when it's empty."

"_Search team three to base. Over._"

"_Go ahead Sam._" Jack's voice crackled.

"_We've got a…DB, a baby on 75 Sunset. Over._"

"What's a DB?" Molly asked, sitting down.

"Dead body." Said Sinder, paling beneath her make-up.

"_I'll send Edilio. Edilio, you get that? Over._" Edilio nodded before he picked up the radio.

"I got it Caine. Over." Jack had clearly been unable to answer so Caine had intervened.

Edilio drained the rest of his coffee and then left without a word. Sinder went upstairs to collect Drew and Molly sat down, feeling sick. A dead baby, it must have been a new family, perhaps they hadn't registered yet.

Astrid arrived with Little Pete and Molly looked up at her.

"Sam found a dead baby, on Sunset." Astrid sighed and then sat down.

"We tried our best, we were never going to get all of the kids out."

"That's three dead kids in eight days."

They were interrupted by Sinder and Drew. Drew ran up to Molly and hugged her tightly.

"Thanks for looking after me, Auntie Molly."

"No problem, Drew, be good for Sinder, okay?"

"Yeah, I promise." Molly nodded to Sinder who gave a small smile and then left.

"Right, who have we got today?"

"T through W, we might be able to finish tomorrow."

"Okay, well Mary and John are at the beach, I've done Sam. Who else?"

The first person, Susan Tucker, arrived and within a few hours they had got through to W. Molly collapsed onto the sofa and looked over at Astrid.

"I want to drive up to Coates."

"Why?"

"There are kids there, disturbed kids from what I've seen of the delegate we've got down here."

"Good point, perhaps we could ask…" A knock at the door interrupted Astrid. Molly groaned and went to answer.

Sam Temple was standing on the other side looking very pale.

"Anna and Emma just poofed." He said, out-of-breath.

"What?" Molly gasped, letting him in.

"I was standing there. I was watching them. I was holding Anna's hand when it happened." Sam had moved through to the living room and Astrid was watching him, clearly concerned. "She was scared, Anna, I mean. She saw Emma disappear. They were born just six minutes apart. So first Emma. Then Anna, waiting for it. Knowing it was coming." Sam sat down on the sofa and Astrid sat next to him and held his hand.

He looked up at Molly and gulped.

"I have five days. Five. Days. Not even a week!"

"You don't know that for sure…" Molly began but Sam interrupted.

"Don't, OK? Just don't. Don't tell me some story about how it's going to be fine. It's not going to be fine.

"OK." Astrid said, holding Sam's hand tightly. "You're right. Somehow, age fifteen is this line, and when you reach it, you poof out."

"If that's true them I'm stuck in here forever!" Said Molly, sitting on the armchair. They discussed it for a few more minutes and then Grace started to cry so Molly went upstairs to collect her, when she came back down Astrid and Sam were snogging on the sofa.

"And this, Grace, this is the first couple of the FAYZ-plus-one, aren't they cute?" She said, causing Sam and Astrid to spring apart as if they had just been electrocuted.

"Sorry." Sam said.

"Forget it, I'm not your mom. I think you lot think I'm ancient, I'm only twenty two, I still feel sixteen sometimes."

"You're really helping the kids, Molly, you take the pressure off, and the help sheets are saving lives." Astrid said softly. Molly had so far made a help sheet for; cooking, washing clothes, hygiene, illness and injury, and emergencies (such as fires).

Suddenly a sound of something hitting the house broke through the touching scene.

"Petey's out there!" Astrid cried, they ran outside. Little Pete was sat on the porch, engrossed in his game.

There was a small gang throwing rocks at him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sam yelled.

"He was ignoring me." Said Panda.

"Panda was just goofing, Sam." Said Quinn from next to Panda.

"There's nothing 'goofing' about throwing rocks at kids, Quinn. You should all be ashamed of yourself!" Molly said, leading Pete inside and then going to feed Grace.

When Sam and Astrid returned Sam was moaning about Quinn.

"…jealous of you." Astrid was saying.

"Well, of course I am terribly handsome." Molly snorted and Sam grinned at her before Astrid continued.

"He's one kind of person, you're another. When life is going along normally, you're sort of the same. But when life turns strange and scary, when there's a crisis, suddenly you're completely different people. It's not Quinn's fault, really, but he's not brave. He's not strong. You are."

"You still want me to be the big hero." Sam said, smiling slightly.

"I want you to be who you are." Astrid said quietly.

"You're forgetting something else that Quinn is jealous of." Said Molly, stroking Grace's tiny foot to stop her falling asleep whilst feeding.

"What?" Asked Sam.

"Edilio." Molly replied, looking over at Sam. "You and Quinn were best friends, since the FAYZ-plus-one Edilio has really stepped up, Quinn hasn't."

"You think?"

"I know, it's been obvious since you woke me up at the power plant."

"Perhaps, anyway, Astrid you need groceries right?"

"Yes, I'll get my bag."

"You need anything, Molly?"

"A long sleep, does that count?"

"No."

"Then I'm good, although if you find tea bags from England I'll love you forever."

* * *

Molly had been dozing on the sofa when a loud knocking on the door woke her up, when she opened it Astrid and Pete were standing there, Astrid looked terrified. She pushed past Molly and shut the door behind her.

"Caine's got Sam! Drake kept me and Petey in the school but Petey got us away. I've got to go!"

"Woo, Astrid calm down!"

Astrid explained what had happened and then dragged Little Pete out of the back door, she told Molly that she was going to Clifftop and told Molly to get out of the house quickly.

Molly packed at small bag, and some of Grace's things, and drove quickly to the fire station. Part of her wanted to find Sam and Caine but she had Grace to think of.

She found Edilio and explained the situation, within a minute Sam and Quinn arrived.

Molly pulled Sam aside and told him that Astrid was heading to Clifftop.

"I'll drive you."

"No, you're needed, stay here, please?"

"Sam…"

"Molly, please!" After a moment Molly nodded.

They moved back over to Edilio and Quinn.

"Molly's staying here, come on." Molly watched them leave and then found a drawer to double up as a crib for Grace.

Within ten minutes Drake arrived, looking menacing.

"Hello Molly, what are you doing here?"

"Well, as there's no one else here…" He slapped her hard before she saw it coming, she landed heavily on the stone floor.

"Where are they?" He asked, bending down and whispering to her.

"I don't know."

"Liar."

Panda arrived with another goon.

"Tie her up." Drake ordered.

"But…"

"Now!"

"Think about what you're doing, this…" Drake kicked her on the back and then forced a gag around her mouth.

She was tied to a chair and dragged into the kitchen.

"What do we do with her?" Panda asked.

"Watch her, I'm going on a Genius and Petard hunt, later."

Molly tried to move but she couldn't, the two kids sat watching her and Drake left, laughing.

After half an hour Grace started crying, Molly struggled against the binds and Panda sighed.

"I'll let you free to feed the brat, don't tell Drake." Molly nodded, Panda released her arms and the other boy, who Molly had not met before, carried over the drawer and Grace's bag.

"Drake's going to freak, dude."

"Shut up, Hank, she's just a baby!" They left Molly's gag on and she fed Grace and tried to change her nappy, Panda sighed and changed the nappy for her.

"I got a baby brother."

"SAM! SAM! THERE'S A FIRE!" Panda and Hank froze at the panicked voice.

"Get rid of them." Panda said.

The kid did not go easy but eventually he left and Molly was tied up again.

After another hour Diana arrived.

"There's a fire…oh, dear, what happened here?" She said, looking at Molly.

"Drake told us to do it."

"Well, I'm telling you to untie her." Diana said, firmly.

"I'm more scared of Drake than you, Diana!" The dark-haired girl gave a soft laugh.

"Well, you shouldn't be. Untie her, otherwise I'll let slip to Caine that your power is growing, Panda."

"You said you wouldn't tell…"

"I lied, untie her!" Panda was quick to untie Molly, the gag was the last thing to be removed.

"Now, both of you get lost." Diana said.

They ran and didn't look back.

"Thanks." Said Molly, massaging her wrists.

"You're welcome, you owe me now, got it?" Molly nodded but didn't reply.

"Your house is on fire, and Astrid's."

"They're detached, we'll let it burn out."

"Wise decision, if I was you I'd hide in the medical centre, Drake's left town but Caine is still around."

"Okay. Diana, where are the other Coates kids?"

"At Coates. They didn't agree with Caine's grand plan, he's…contained them. Listen to me, _Auntie _Molly, and listen good because I'm going to give you some advice."

"I'm listening."

"I don't know how you got here, I guess it's to do with that kid brother of Astrid's, but I know that you're useful here. If you want to stay alive, stay out of the way. Caine see's that you're useful, if you start causing trouble, you'll cease being useful. Catch my drift?"

"Yes. What about Drake?"

"He's disturbed, but at the moment he follows Caine, when he stops, you'll be in trouble, but then again when he stops, we'll all be in trouble."

"Thanks for the warning."

"You're welcome. This conversation never happened."

"It's erased from my freakishly perfect memory already."

"Don't forget you owe me." Diana said, then she walked away.

* * *

A/N So the action has started and now Molly owes Diana a favour, I wouldn't want to owe Diana anything!

Please review and let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

When Molly arrived at the medical centre, she was still crying. The encounter with Drake had unnerved her, as had her conversation with Diana.

"Molly?" Elwood asked, Dahra jerked awake next to him. Cookie was mercifully sleeping.

"Molly, what happened?"

"I need to lay low here for a bit, my house is burning down and Sam and the other's have had to run."

"What happened to your face?" Asked Dahra, picking up Grace from Molly's arms and putting her in one of the hospital cribs.

"Drake."

"What?"

"He can't get away…" Elwood started but Molly cut across him.

"Just leave it, I just need to lay low, until the morning." Elwood and Dahra looked at her in shock for a moment and then both nodded.

"I'll get you some ice." Dahra said, moving away and returning with an instant ice pack.

"If that bruises and the kids realise Drake hurt you they'll be trouble."

"I'll say I fell, it's not worth it."

* * *

Molly felt very vulnerable when she left the hospital the next day. Elwood had volunteered to walk with her to find a new house. It had been a long night and Molly was sick with worry about the others.

As they walked past the day care Molly doubled back and walked in.

"Auntie Molly! Auntie Molly!" The littlies cried, all gathering around her, John looked up and started to ask about her black eye but she held up his hand and he fell silent.

"Where's Mary?"

"In the office."

"Have you got a spare pushchair for Grace?"

"Yeah, I'll find you one, we saw the fire." Molly nodded and John let her past and she walked into the office with Grace.

Mary was awake but staring at a notebook with unfocussed eyes.

"Mary?" Mary jumped and looked around.

"Oh Molly! Thank God, we heard about the fire and Sam leaving town, I was worried you'd gone with them."

"No, I hid in the hospital, I told you, I'm here for the kids, not the politics between Sam and Caine."

Mary nodded and then pulled Molly into a gentle hug, Grace squeezed between them.

"Where are you and John staying?"

"On Firwood, there's an empty four bed next to us if you want it?"

"I do, thanks. I need to talk to you about something else as well."

"What?"

"Dahra told me about the Prozac."

"She had no right!" Mary said, looking angry.

"It's on your school file anyway, I read it yesterday. I know about the bulimia, how are you coping?"

"I'm fine, I've still got my meds." She said, coldly.

"Mary, if you're struggling, let me know, I want to help, please." Mary looked at her for a few minutes and then nodded.

"Thanks Molly."

"No problem, spread the word about where I'm living, what number is it?"

"47, key is in the flowerpot, they haven't got a cot, I'll ask the search teams to find you one."

"Thanks, any spare clothes?"

Mary gave Molly a huge bag of clothes and nappies and then she left with Elwood.

"Can you find someone who can be trusted for me?"

"Sure, umm…Roger, the Artful Roger."

"Roger Hartle? Yeah, he seemed like a good kid, can you find him for me? Ask him to come over."

"Sure, his house is on the way back to the hospital anyway."

Molly liked the new house, the decorating wasn't as nice as the other house but one of the former occupants was the same size, and had the same taste in clothes, as Molly so she was pleased to find a fully stocked wardrobe.

She had lost virtually all her possessions at the other house, she had a few clothes, her notebook and laptop, her pointless mobile phone, and a framed picture of her mother that she took with her whenever she travelled.

She put Grace in a drawer again and then went to the kitchen, most of the fridge content was ruined but she found quite a few boxes of medication in the house, the occupant had clearly suffered from arthritis, and there was also a good supply of milk. There was however, no tea.

A knock on the door disturbed her musings and when she opened it Roger was there.

"Hi Roger, thanks for coming."

"No problems, what happened with the others? Where's Edilio?"

Molly explained what had happened and Roger look upset by the events, he looked around the living room and seemed to make a decision.

"Well, I'll help you till Edilio gets back, he told me he was worried about you. I'll stay here, if you don't mind?"

"I don't, thanks Roger. I have something I need you to do first though."

"What?"

"It might take a while but I need you to go to the school and reprint all the school files for the kids with the surnames of X, if there are any, through to Z."

"Sure, what about the others?"

"I can remember the files, I have a _powerful_ memory apparently, I'll rewrite them. Could you grab me some stationary stuff from the shop."

"Sure, useful power, the memory thing."

"I know, are you hiding anything?"

"Nope, I'm normal, quite relieved really. Anyway, I'll be as quick as I can." Molly nodded and Roger left quickly.

Molly tried to sleep but she was filled with worry and haunted by Drake so she filled the time by starting to type up the files on the family's computer, thankfully they had a huge supply of ink and paper. She found a bookshelf and noticed that the books on it were written by the homeowner. She considered reading one but decided against it, she need to work, not relax.

When Roger returned Molly was asleep on the keyboard, he woke her up gently.

"Oh, hey, how did you get on?"

"Got it all, go and sleep Molly, you look exhausted!" Molly nodded but didn't move.

She took the files off Roger and read the six of them quickly, there was nothing of much concern which relieved her. They already had enough kids with problems and that wasn't including the kids from Coates which she hadn't had the nerve to ask Caine for the files for.

Molly tried to sleep again but she couldn't, she bathed Grace, made a dinner of pasta for Roger and herself, when she heard Mary come home she took some around and made sure that Mary ate all of it.

"I'm fine, honestly! I've still got the Prozac, please don't treat me differently, Molly, it won't help!" Molly left feeling bad, she had little experience with eating disorders.

When she returned next door she wrote out a list of books for Roger to find in the library. He had gone to bed but he could fetch them in the morning.

She wrote a list of books on a variety of topics; counselling, grief, mental health disorders, ADHD, eating disorders, depression, childhood violence, and then she added The Lord of the Flies at the bottom, just to refresh her post-FAYZ-plus-one perfect memory

Molly spent the entire night typing up the kids files, she made it through nearly all of them before morning when there was a knock on the door.

It was Howard.

"Morning, what can I do for you?"

"I think Sam's coming back." Howard said, making no motion to come into the house, that suited Molly fine.

"Good."

"I saw them, walking down from Coates, there's a lot of them."

"Excellent, why are you telling me?"

"Orc is…he's changed, I don't know how to explain it."

"Try." Molly said, trying to keep bitterness out of her voice.

"There were talking coyotes and Drake was there and now Orc! He's like a gravel monster, Molly! From a comic book or something, he's just sat at home drinking beer."

"I'll come by and see him later, okay?" Molly said, sure that Howard was exaggerating. He nodded but still didn't move.

"We disobeyed Caine." He said, looking nervous.

"Oh, so now you want to buddy up to Sam? Get him to protect you?"

"Yeah!" He said, looking delighted that Molly had picked up the point of the visit so quickly.

"Okay, go and meet them, tell them I live here now, bring them here, got it?"

"Yes, I'll go now and you'll go and help Orc later, yeah?" Howard said, running to follow Molly's command. She almost laughed at his eagerness.

She walked up to Roger's room and opened the door, he was already dressed and staring out of the window.

"Howard thinks Sam's on his way back, with the others and possibly the Coates kids. They're coming here." Roger looked relieved.

"Thank God, I'll make some food they'll be hungry. You get some sleep, Molly, you look like crap."

"Thanks Roger."

Molly managed to get an hours sleep before she heard Grace crying, she went to feed her and then heard the door knock. She walked downstairs and arrived just as Roger was letting them in.

"Boy, am I glad to see you lot." She said, Sam smiled but then his smile faded.

"What happened to your face?"

"Drake." Molly whispered, glad that they were mostly alone, the other kids were in the living room.

"Where's Lana?" He said, turning back and poking his head into the room.

"She's with Dahra and Cookie." Said Astrid, stepping out of the room and hugging Molly.

"Where's Edilio?" Roger asked.

"Learning to drive."

"Who's Lana?"

"New recruit, she can heal people, she saved my life." Said Sam bluntly, Molly moved into the heaving sitting room.

"I think you guys need to catch me up."

Astrid had just finished filling her in on their adventures, which involved talking Coyotes, when Elwood arrived with a native American girl who looked almost unconscious with exhaustion.

"Can Lana stay here?" Elwood asked.

"Of course, hi Lana, I hear you're a hero."

"Not quite, let me fix your eye." She held out her hand and stumbled slightly. Roger steadied her.

"Get some sleep, Lana, it can wait. And who is this?" She asked, bending down and stroking a dog.

"Patrick, he's a hero too."

"Well, he's a lucky hero, because I have dog food." Molly picked up a can and bowl and then guided Lana and Patrick into the room that Roger had slept in.

She emptied the dog food into the bowl and Patrick gulped it down quickly.

"Thanks, I can't believe what's happened, with all the adults!"

"I know, I'm the only one. Get some sleep, I'll come up in a bit to check on you." Lana nodded and snuggled into the bed. Patrick jumped up and circled the bed once before settling next to his owner.

When Molly returned downstairs the house was empty, Astrid had scribbled a note telling her that they would be staying in the next street, they didn't want to organise a fight where she could hear it.

_It's not that we don't trust you, Molly. We just don't want you to be involved, you're too important. We've taken Grace next door, John is looking after her, get some sleep!_

_Astrid_

_Xxx_

Molly smiled and then walked upstairs and fell into her bed, she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

She was woken, during the night, by Lana's worried voice.

"…heal you anyway, you don't have to do this!" Came the hurried whisper.

Molly stood up and opened her door. Drake was standing there, with a gun.

"Hey Auntie Molly, who sprung you?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I need healing, she's the healer, I'm taking her, come on freak." Lana walked down the stairs, followed by Patrick.

Drake pointed the gun at Molly.

"Drake, think about what you're doing."

"Come here." He said, putting his finger on the trigger, Molly stepped forward, her eye on the barrel of the gun, when she was close to him she jumped forwards to grab the weapon but Drake had clearly been expecting it because he kicked her hard in the stomach and then picked her up and threw her over the railings.

She heard Lana scream, Drake laugh, and then she hit the floor and she heard nothing.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"…Lana's gone, we need to get her to Dahra!" Molly recognised Edilio's voice and tried to open her eyes. She was in pain, in her back, her knee was definitely dislocated underneath her and her chest was aching, breathing was difficult.

"Molly? Can you hear us?" Molly managed to open her eyes and saw Edilio and Roger looking back at her.

"Drake…"

"What?"

"Drake, he took Lana…"

"What did he do to you?" Edilio asked, outrage clear in his voice.

"Threw me over the bannister…hurts…"

"How are we going to get her to Dahra?" Roger asked.

"We'll have to carry her, sorry Molly."

When Edilio lifted her off the floor she screamed in agony and he nearly put her down again, Roger stopped him.

"….get her there, come on."

She drifted in and out of consciousness, at one point she saw an unfamiliar black girl enter her field of vision.

"…is Dekka, she can…gravity…help you…" Molly couldn't follow the words but felt herself become lighter in Edilio's arms.

Kids were running alongside them and crying but Molly couldn't focus on their faces, they were all demanding to know what had happened. At some point Sam caught up with them, he was with another unfamiliar girl, she was there and then she seemed to blur out of vision.

When they arrived in the hospital Edilio lowered her as gently as he could but she still screamed in agony.

"…oxygen…ribs…"

"…knee…"

"My knee…" Molly managed to say.

"I know."

"Push it, Dahra…"

"I can't!"

"Please Dahra! It's...happened before…"

"I can't! Where's Lana?" Edilio explained about Drake taking Lana and Dahra swore loudly.

"Please…someone…push it back in!"

"I'll do it, my sister's got weird knees. Dahra, can you give her some pain relief first?" Molly looked over at one of the new kids, overwhelming grateful.

"I'm The Breeze, I'll do it so fast you won't even feel it." The new girl said, with a confidence that Molly wished she had.

She felt Dahra inject her with something and then put an oxygen mask over her mouth, the world seemed to fade and then her knee gave a painful throb and she felt the relief of it back in place.

"Thanks…" She muttered, she heard someone throw up but she couldn't tell who it was.

She felt the pain killer spread through her and she drifted off to sleep.

The morphine filled dreams seem to come and go, at one point breathing became so difficult that Molly thought she might die. Dahra's face was an ever-present worried blur and there was strange sounds, like gunfire, from outside.

Molly hoped that it was the army, coming to rescue her, to rescue them all.

* * *

"…waking up now."

"Come on Molly, we need you." It was Astrid's urgent voice that forced Molly to open her eyes. Lana was sat next to her, holding her hand, and Astrid was standing behind her looking like she had been in a tornado.

"Lana? Astrid?" She asked, her mouth felt furry, Astrid passed her a bottle of water.

"Yeah, there was a big fight, Sam won but…" Astrid hesitated.

"Lots of dead kids." Lana finished. "You feeling better?"

"Yeah, just a bit stiff, thanks Lana."

"No problem, I'm going to help some others, I'll check in with you later." Lana left and Astrid helped Molly sit up.

"Nineteen children died, Molly! Coyotes came and…it was awful!"

"Where's Pete?"

"In the corner, Lana's healing him now."

"Were you alright?"

"The church has collapsed." Astrid's lip wobbled so Molly pulled her into a hug and let Astrid the Genius cry on her, at one point Dahra joined them.

"Thanks for helping me, Dahra."

"It was Lana…"

"No, you gave me a pain killer, and oxygen, I remember it all, don't go denying it." Dahra nodded and pulled back.

"Come on, the kids need to see you." Astrid waited for Pete to stand up and walk over to her and then she led Molly out of the medical centre and into the plaza.

The kids seemed too stunned to notice her at first, but when they did they ran to her, crying, cheering, and clapping.

"Where's Grace?" Molly asked, over the noise.

"Roger's been watching her, I'll go and find him."

Astrid walked off and a moment later Sam arrived, covered in blood but clearly all healed.

"I survived the poof!" He announced with an easy smile.

"Excellent, now you can grow old in the FAYZ-plus-one with me." She said, pulling him into a hug.

How was it that she now felt closer to these kids than she did her own family, even her friends back home? It had only been just over a week and even in the madness of this bizarre world they had found normality.

* * *

"Most of us are from Perdido Beach. Some are from Coates. One from England." Molly smiled as Sam nodded in her direction. "Some of us are…well, a little strange. And some of us are not. But we're all here now, we're all in it together. We're going to survive. If this is our world now…I mean, it is our world now. It is our world. So let's make it a good one."

Molly listened to Sam's speech at the Thanksgiving dinner with a detached pride, he had really stepped up. He had become the leader that Astrid had been so desperate for him to become.

The cheers were so loud they woke Grace up, Molly grumbled and moved away from the table.

She sat on the wall of the fountain in the town plaza and looked over at the graves. No matter what happened from now on, Molly's future was sealed, as soon as the FAYZ-plus-one was over, she would end up in prison, if she made it out at all.

When the meal ended Molly walked up to Albert, Edilio trailing behind her as usual.

"Well done, Albert."

"Thanks, I know it's not a normal thanks…"

"I've never been to a Thanksgiving before, it could be normal for all I know!" Albert smiled slightly but still looked disappointed with himself.

"She'll be proud of you." Molly said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"You think?" Albert asked, looking up at her.

"She'll be really proud when this is over and you tell her."

"Thanks Molly."

"How much food is left?"

"Four pies, I'll freeze them…"

"Actually Albert, I need them, sorry." Albert looked unsure for a moment but then nodded and pointed towards the pie dishes before then walked over to Sam and Astrid.

"You sure about this?" Edilio said, picking up the pies. "Drake…"

"I said I wouldn't get involved in politics, you don't have to come."

"I'm coming, Roger said he'll watch Grace, if we're quick no one will notice." Molly nodded and together they carried the four pies to the car and Molly and Edilio managed to sneak away from the feast without being stopped.

"I don't want you bringing a gun."

"I don't care, come on, if you're taking a peace offering up the hill then at least let me protect you from the car." Molly smiled and started the car.

As almost all the kids were at the feast the town was eerily quiet, they passed Orc and Howards house and Molly sighed, thinking about Orc. It wouldn't be easy, helping him.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure Edilio, I think we're like family now."

"Cool, sibling aliens, I like it." Edilio nodded as he said it but then didn't ask his question.

"What do you want to know?"

"What happened to your mom? I've heard you talk about your dad and his girlfriend but…what about your mom?"

"She's dead." Molly said, indicating and then wondering why she bothered, it was good driving practice perhaps.

"When?"

"I was nine."

"Cancer?" Edilio asked quietly, Molly shook her head and took a moment before replying.

"One night she was coming back from work, she was a journalist, I heard the car pull up and I looked out of my bedroom window because she always used to look up and wave to me when she got home. Anyway, she parked the car and she was just getting up when a tree fell down and…she was crushed."

"How…how did it fall? Was there a hurricane or something?"

"The tree was old, it was a bit windy, the investigation called it an Act of God, a freak event."

"A freak event." Edilio echoed quietly, Molly nodded.

"And there started an obsession with freak events that brought me to this little slice of hell." They reached the guard house of the school but the gate was open so Molly drove straight through.

When they reached the school Molly couldn't help gasping. Coates Academy clearly used to be a beautiful building but after too much unnatural power since the onset of the FAYZ-plus-one, the building looked abandoned.

Panda ran out of the school first, Molly saw him shout to someone and Edilio tensed up. Molly wound down her window just as Diana was coming down the steps.

"Molly, how lovely for you to visit."

"I told you, I'm out of the politics."

"So, what do you want, cos Caine and Drake are out?" Panda said, looking like he was trying to make himself look scarier. Edilio relaxed slightly at the mention of Caine and Drake's absence, Molly was pleased as well.

"I've just bought some food." Molly could see the relief on Diana's face, however much the girl was trying to hide it. "Stay in the car." Molly said to Edilio, he nodded.

Molly got out and opened the boot, Diana walked over and looked at the pies.

"Thanks." She whispered, barely audible.

"You could have stayed in Perdido Beach." Molly said, whispering herself.

"If I wasn't here to question everything they did…it would be worse." Molly nodded and Diana reached in and took the pies out of the boot.

"Let me know if you need anything." Molly said, giving Diana's hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'm not sure if this makes us even but let's say I still owe you."

"Okay, I'll be in touch." Diana said, she moved away and Molly shut the boot and nodded to Panda before getting back into the car and driving back down to Perdido Beach, her new home.

* * *

A/N Sorry for the delay! We'll start Hunger next week.


End file.
